Perceptions of Future Language Teachers Related to Their Learning and Studying Strategies

In order for the students to become better and more successful learners, it is extremely important for them to be aware of their learning and studying strategies and to be able to improve them. The purpose of this study was first of all to investigate the strategies used by the future teachers while learning and studying. Twenty-five second year Foreign Language Education department students at Middle East Technical University were interviewed and detailed questions were asked about how they learn and how they study for their classes. Of course, these were their own perceptions related to the strategies they used. After collecting the qualitative data, the researcher analyzed the data by coding and shared the results with the future teachers of English language. In order to become more successful and strategic learners, they needed to be informed about their strengths and weaknesses in their use of strategies. The second step which followed the research results was to make them more aware of better strategies that would fit their learning styles and dominant intelligences. This awareness raising stage was important as these students would become teachers in the near future and would have their own students.
In this presentation, the researcher will share the purpose of the study, data gathering and analysis procedures and the results of the research, and she will also make some suggestions on how we can raise awareness in our learners and empower them with more strategic learning and studying strategies.

Dr. Feyza Doyran

Dr. Feyza Doyran has been working as a faculty member of the Foreign Language Education Department, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. Among the courses she teaches in the department are English Language Teaching Methodology, Advanced English Language Structure, and Teaching English to Young Learners. She has been leading in-service and pre-service teacher training seminars for more than ten years. At the Continuing Education Center of the same university she also gives seminars on, for instance, Effective Communication Skills, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Motivation, and Effective Presentation Skills. doyran@metu.edu.tr